**Author's note** Hey guys, please disregard the fact that this chapter is not indented. For some reason when I posted it the chapter did not indent. I will revise it.

The second he staggered away from her with a grunt of pain, Leonie made a mad dash for the door. The room spun with the onslaught of fear and adrenaline rushing through her veins and she nearly staggered as she wrenched it open to slam against the opposing wall.

Sunlight struck her face, momentarily blinding her as she began to run with her heart in her throat. Her chest began to burn with harsh, haggard breaths as her eyes darted frantically around, surveying the parking lot.

"Help me!" she cried, her feet carrying her quickly across the hot, black pavement, "Someone help me, please!"

She came to a jarring halt and glanced fleetingly around only to discover the parking lot completely vacant. There wasn't a soul in sight.

She headed around the building and her heart soared as she spotted the market on the corner. Certain someone would be there, she started for it in a dead run, only to be thwarted by a band of muscle as it clamped around her waist, hauling her swiftly off her feet.

Leonie screamed as she was hefted abruptly like a sack of grain over Nico's shoulder. She began to pummel his back with balled fists, kicking and struggling but to no avail as he stalked across the lot and back into their motel room.

He dropped her to her feet and the sudden momentum forced her legs to buckle as he kicked the door shut with such force that the walls on either side shuddered.

Her eyes widened as she gazed up at him. He had never looked so furious, in fact, he looked murderous. That steel-green burned with unbridled rage and gazed at her like a predator honed in on its prey as blood trickled from beneath a black, errant strand.

She scrambled back against the carpet as he reached down and seized her arm, wrenching her to her feet. Leonie gasped as he jerked her roughly against him, his warm breath fanning her forehead as steel-green eyes drank her in, falling to rest hungrily on her mouth. His hand was a threatening vise around her arm, holding her firm against every hard, taut contour.

And then he shoved her away, "Strip," he ordered gruffly.

She gasped as her heart plummeted to her stomach, "W-what?" she stammered.

His fierce, burning gaze never wavered as he demanded again, "I said strip."

A tiny, incredulous breath escaped her as she took a step back.

A black brow arched as he stepped toward her, "Don't tell me your courage has deserted you?"

She took another step back, feeling as though the room were caving in around her, "Y-you said you didn't – "

His mouth curved almost cruelly as his eyes dilated in their slow perusal of her, appraising the length of her. His boots brought him closer, shards of glass crunching with every advanced step, forcing her further back against the wall. His nostrils flared wide as though to inhale deeply of her as his eyes burned of fire and ice, "I've had a change of heart."

Leonie's eyes narrowed to blue daggers, "You have no heart."

He abandoned her mouth and met her gaze, and something happened – that steel-green flared brighter, fiercer, projecting an unnatural gleam of something feral within.

Oh, gosh. What was she dealing with?

Leonie barely managed a breath before his arms snaked out on either side of her, trapping her within bands of corded muscle as he leaned down, so close that his perfectly sculpted mouth hovered above her own.

She could do no more than hold herself rigid as ragged breaths forced her chest against that breadth of tattooed brawn. "So you would rape me then?"

"Rape?" he snarled, "I thought the game we were playing was seduction?"

She raised her chin to glare directly into that steel-green, "No."

He smirked and shook his head, strands of unruly black hair falling about his forehead, and still he didn't wipe the streak of blood there, "Too late for that, angel."

He reached out and grazed her cheek with coarse knuckles, "So soft," he murmured as if to himself, and then, "Take off your shirt."

Her eyes widened and her mouth parted on a sharp exhalation, "N-no."

Steel-green eyes captured hers, "Would you rather I rip it off?"

She tilted her chin defiantly, blue eyes glinting sharply, "I'd rather you go straight to hell."

A grin took form of his beautifully wicked mouth, taking Leonie by surprise as he muttered, "I've been there, angel – " those steely eyes glimmered fervently, " – and the Devil himself spit me out."

Suddenly time stood still and all that existed was but the two of them in that musty, run-down motel room. He gazed at her with something incredibly lethal crouched just beyond that icy sheen and it snatched alarmingly at her soul.

"I'll not ask again." He murmured hoarsely.

Blue clashed with steel-green as she reached for the hem of her tank-top, those icy eyes following her shaky ministrations with an intensity that seared her to the soles of her bare feet. With a deep breath, Leonie lifted and hefted the shirt over her head and onto the floor.

*************

Nico sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes fastened on the perfect swell of breasts sheathed in a tantalizing scrap of lace.

It set flame to his blood like wildfire as his beast all but nearly broke through his skin.

Mine. It's low, vicious growl resonated within the shell of his body as its claws scraped and dragged against his insides, willing to tear him apart to breach the surface.

Nico ground his teeth, resisting his beast.

He had never denied his wolf anything, so why now did he struggle to keep it at bay? For fear of hurting her? For fear of claiming her as his?

Yes. Claim. Mine. His wolf roared with another shuddering of skin and scraping of claws.

They were one in the same, man and beast confined to one set of skin, so why did it react as though it were a separate component?

You're losing your shit, Roux. Get it together.

But try as he might, he couldn't take command of his desires. His eyes focused on those baby-blues.

Damn, she was beautiful, straight from a fucking dream.

He inhaled deeply of her honeyed scent – and as though drawn, reached up and hooked a finger beneath a strap, dragging it down over the curve of her shoulder. But just when he thought to bare one milky-white breast, his gaze fell to her abdomen – and he stiffened.

The fire in his veins intensified, but rather than lust, it was rage that burned red hot. He gnashed his teeth as he surveyed her in menacing silence.

She'd been touched by something far darker, something far crueler – and still bore that evil in the bruising of her skin.

Valentine.

His hands curled against the wall and before he could stop himself, slammed a fist into the drywall above her head.

She cried out and flinched as pieces of it dispersed to the floor.

Nico pushed away from her and shoved a hand through his hair as a crimson haze grappled with his vision. He shouldn't give one damn.

The red slowly faded from his eyes and he could see in his peripheral that she hastened to cover herself.

Fuck. He was no better than Valentine, or his bastard father. What the hell was she doing to him? She had accused him of rape. He could never hurt a female the way his father had done his mother. To take a woman against her will was an act of violence and that very violence had dulled the light in his mother's eyes. It had diminished her fight and extinguished her fire. He knew nothing of this blue-eyed angel, but she had fight and fire in the snapping of those baby-blues and he liked that about her.

But was he capable of such violence because of the blood that coursed through his veins?

She shifted in his line of vision and he turned just to catch her wince as she took a step. His brows furrowed as he quickly advanced toward her and swept her off her feet.

She stiffened in his arms and then thrashed as he moved toward the bed.

"Put me down, you bastard!" she hissed.

"Gladly," he dropped her onto the mattress and she flounced atop it with a yelp.

Nico settled on the edge and seized her ankle, wrenching her closer as she attempted to scramble off the side.

"Be still." He growled as he lifted her foot to inspect the bottom of it.

When she realized what he was doing, she stilled, watching him uneasily with those beautiful blues.

"You have a shard of glass in your foot."

*****************

Leonie watched her brooding captor as he carefully extracted the glass from her foot. She stared at those large, callused hands, taken aback by the unexpected gentleness in which he withdrew it.

She couldn't seem to quell the trembling in her body, that trembling partly due to fear, the other half – she dared not recognize it for what it was.

She couldn't be attracted to him. He was just as dangerous and lethal as Valentine. He radiated such raw masculinity that every bit of his chiseled, tattooed frame terrified her, yet it awakened indescribable feelings in her. She had felt something when he had touched her and though she would have fought him tooth and nail, she could not deny that a small part of her wanted his touch.

But the most baffling thing of all had been his reaction to what Valentine had done to her. There had been a flaring of bristling rage beneath all that ice.

Leonie realized he still held firm to her ankle.

"You can let go of me now." She snapped, tugging at her leg.

He raised his dark head and all that steel-green molten held her riveted, "Tell me what Valentine wants with you."

A breath snagged in her throat as she tugged at her leg again, prompting his grip to tighten. "I don't have to tell you anything."

His expression hardened, "Is that how you want to play this? Tit for tat?"

She frowned at him, "Tit for tat? I haven't even begun to insult you."

Her only warning was a slight smirk before he wrenched her across the mattress and onto his lap. She gasped as his forearm clamped about her waist, hauling her up against his chest. "I tire of these games, angel." He murmured gruffly, his eyes settling to rest on her mouth, "Either you tell me what I want – " his gaze skimmed a hot path over her breasts, " – or I'll simply resort to another means of obtaining it."

Another sharpened breath escaped her as the heat of his body pooled around her, "I told you everything I know."

Nico reached up and gripped her chin, turning her face back to his as those steel-green eyes narrowed perceptively at the untruth of her words, "You've told me nothing but another lie."

She felt a sudden pang of anger, "You have told me nothing!" she spat, "What do you want with him anyway?"

The fire in those eyes magnified, "He is my enemy, is that not reason enough?"

"And now you answer with a lie." Leonie countered.

He surprised her with a grin and it transformed his face entirely, making him all the more wickedly attractive, "It was partly the truth." He fell silent and then added with a hint of rage, "Someone betrayed me to a vampire and for that, they will die a slow and agonizing death, along with your Valentine."

"He is not mine!" she snapped angrily, shoving at his chest.

He tilted his head at her, the ice there glimmering, "No? Then who do you belong to, angel, if not him?"

Leonie raised her chin, "I don't have to tell you anything."

His steely eyes flickered over her face with an unreadable expression and then his body stiffened and he suddenly released her.

She scrambled off his lap to the further side of the bed, watching him warily as he gathered to his feet. She gazed at that scarred, muscled back, wondering as to his sudden turn of thoughts.

When he finally turned to face her, a glint of cold determination had returned to the steel of his eyes. "We will stay here another night."

"And then what?" she asked.

"I'm going to shed some undead blood." He growled ominously.

He fell silent and turned to survey the broken bottle of Jack Daniels and muttered something intangible under his breath. He took a few steps and seized the tattered linen from the floor – and turned to her.

Leonie stiffened, her eyes widening in sudden alarm as she brought her knees up against her chest, "What are you doing?"

He stepped toward her, "I need to rest –"

She shook her head, " – you don't need to do that." She eyed the strips of linen as if they were venomous vipers.

His expression hardened as he came to stand beside her, "I'm not about to chase you all over this fucking parking lot."

She narrowed her eyes with anger, "Well, aren't you just a modern day barbarian."

His mouth quirked, "If you think me such a barbarian now, angel, continue to defy me," he paused, then added, "Hold out your wrists."

For a moment they merely glared at one another until finally, reluctantly, she turned up her wrists.

Once he was finished, he came around the bed to the other side.

Leonie frowned, "What are you – "

"I have no intentions of sleeping in that hard ass chair." He interrupted gruffly.

Her eyes widened at the implication. "You don't mean to sleep here?"

Nico pinned her with those glimmering steel eyes, "Oh, indeed," he replied with a hint of a grin, "And, if you as much as stir in bed, I'll feel every bit of it, so think on that if you considering escaping."

She swallowed uneasily as he settled on the other side, the flimsy mattress dipping with his muscled weight that she nearly toppled onto him. She straightened and watched as he kicked off his boots and then sprawled onto his back, his bronzed frame a great contrast to the stiff, white bedding.

He closed his eyes and raised his arms above his head, crossing them to rest against the headboard.

For a moment, Leonie sat upright, her spine stiff as she observed the length of him next to her. He was massive, so much so that he took up majority of the bed. And against her better judgment, her eyes drifted lazily over him, appraising every masculine ridge and valley that made up his magnificent frame.

"If you're going to continue to leer at me, angel, I might be hard pressed to encourage my own impulses." He rasped heatedly.

He hadn't opened his eyes and yet, he'd known she'd been staring.

She stifled a gasp and tore her gaze away as a blush suffused her face but it was vastly replaced with anger as she spat, "Don't flatter yourself, barbarian. Rugged and brute does not appeal to me." She then edged as closely as she could to the side of the mattress and settled down.

For a time, she lay stiff and unmoving, listening intently to the even sounds of his breathing. But it wasn't long before exhaustion crept fast and she too drifted asleep.

************

Leonie awoke some time later in the middle of the night. Her eyes drifted open to a flat screen of darkness until eventually her eyes adjusted and she could just make out the little bit of furniture in the room.

And then she became aware of the large, male body lying next to her.

Her heart skipped a solid beat as she listened to the sound of every expelled breath that escaped him.

She glanced across the darkness and just barely made out the shape of the door and recalled his words from earlier –

If you as much as stir in bed, I'll feel every bit of it, so think on that if you consider escaping.

Her heart accelerated at the aspect of fleeing but dare she attempt it? What would he do to her if he caught her? What would happen to her if she actually managed to escape? What if Valentine just lurked within the dark to snatch her back up? Dare she risk it?

But what would happen to her if she didn't? If Nico found out what she was, would he kill her? What if he already planned to kill her?

It didn't matter. She wasn't safe either way but she had to try. She was a Camden and Camden's were fighters.

Slowly, she shifted her legs, holding a breath as she fully anticipated Nico to seize her. But she detected no change in his breathing and on that note, gently rose up from the mattress, all the while, watching him cautiously through wide eyes. She brought her legs over the edge and began to work at the linen around her wrists with her teeth. The material loosened and she was able to tug them free.

She glanced over her shoulder but still Nico hadn't roused from his deep sleep. Had he underestimated his exhaustion – or was he simply tricking her into believing she could escape?

Either way, she had to try.

With her heart in her throat, she stood, cringing inwardly as the springs of the mattress objected soundly with every subtle movement. Once afoot, she turned and surveyed the length of him in the dark. With her eyes fastened on her steely-eyed captor, Leonie inched her way toward the door. Once she accomplished that feat, she exhaled a breath, and then focused on the task of turning the knob and opening the door.

When it finally cracked ajar, creating just enough space for her to slip through, she dipped into the night.

************

Leonie shivered as she braced the unusual chilly air for a summer night and rubbed her hands up and down her arms, realizing she'd forgotten her sweater.

She didn't dare linger long enough to know if whether or not Nico had stirred. She took off running with a surging of feet and ran until her heart threatened to combust. Eventually, the burning in her chest forced her to a brisk walk, all the while glancing fearfully over her shoulder for fear that the shadows would produce a massive, tattooed shape.

She surveyed her surroundings, noticing alarmingly that she had absolutely no idea as to where she was. Where had Valentine initially taken her? Where had Nico brought her? Was she still in New York? Was she just outside the skirts of the city?

Panic clutched at her burning chest. She had no money. No shoes, she realized as something sharp pricked the bottom of her foot. She winced, stalling long enough to pry it from her skin before regaining her steps.

Her eyes darted frantically around the deserted streets. She had spied the market earlier on the corner, but at this hour knew it was closed. She wouldn't dare return to the motel for help for fear of running into Nico. The buildings that rose up around her appeared abandoned and not a single light projected from a window.

It was a ghost town.

This is my luck. Leonie thought dejectedly with a rousing of tears.

              No. She thought with a stiffening of her spine. Now isn't the time for crying, Leo.

She paused a moment to catch her breath and glanced skyward to a crescent moon that clung to the blackened sky, illuminating rays of moonlight to bathe the blacktop.

Her mind was reeling with thoughts as to what she should do next when a sudden sound alerted her.

She spun around and her eyes widened alarmingly against a veil of thickening darkness that crept toward her, watching as it shifted, materializing into something ominously solid – and undead.

Leonie paled to a sheen of white as a chilling, raspy voice proclaimed from that dark, "Mmm, you smell – sweet."

The voice wasn't Valentine's but she recognized the creature for what it was.

Vampire.

A sickening fear gripped her heart as the vampire's face appeared in the moonlight. Red, bloodthirsty eyes gazed hungrily back at her within a gaunt, skeletal face.

She had lured a vampire directly to her – but how?

And then she recalled having stepped on something earlier, not to mention, she was covered in dry blood.

Her eyes darted on either side of her, searching wildly for a weapon, but there was nothing.

The vampire craned its face to the air as if to inhale deeply of it, "You do not smell of human – " its red eyes sharpened, glinting like red rubies, " – what are you?"

With every step the creature took, she retreated two more, a panic welling up in her chest.

She raised her chin and met that unwavering red gaze, "I belong to another." She declared with as much assertion as she could muster.

The vampire narrowed those red rubies with a hint of suspicion. "Then where, pray tell, is your mate?"

He took another step and it hauled a sharpened exhalation from her throat.

And then she felt the stirring of the lingering evil in her veins followed promptly by a sinister whispering against the walls of her mind.

You belong to me!!

Her body was seized up in a frozen vise of terror as Valentine's malevolent voice shuddered through her brain.

Oh, dear gosh, no.

It was pain that jarred her alert and she realized horrifyingly that the vampire had a grip on her arm, its talons digging fiercely into her skin as it reeled her close.

Leonie cried out and fought against that grip, but its hold was likened to a thousand men, and she knew with a panicked scream that she could not break it.

The creature snickered as though delighted by her fear and sank its talons deeper into her arm, drawing blood.

"No!" she wailed, flailing against its sickening, cold embrace as its fangs lengthened.

"I intend to drain every bit of you." The creature rasped its voice thick with hunger as it leaned forward.

She shoved against its bone-protruding chest, but to no avail as the creature hooked a hand in her hair and wrenched back, exposing the column of her throat.

And then a menacing, ear-shattering roar rang sharp in the night.

The vampire stiffened and reared its head upward, bared its canines on a drawled hiss and shoved her away.

Leonie went sprawling and hit the pavement with a scraping of palms and knees. She cried out against the burning of torn skin but quickly turned over and scrambled up against the sidewalk to survey the vampire crouched, poised as though ready for a fight and across from it – stood Nico.

Her heart soared at the sight of him but that relief was short-lived for his eyes glinted savagely within the moonlight, accentuating the unnatural gleam of a lethal ferocity existing just beneath strained muscle.

Her eyes widened as they traveled down his arms to his hands where his fingers had sprouted into – talons? And when he curled his lip back to issue a growl that betrayed him to be anything but human, she saw large, unmasked canines.

Leonie could do no more than sit immobile with fear as the vampire hissed between its fangs, "Lycanthrope."

Her heart stalled against her chest. She had stumbled across that word many times while reading up on mythological creatures. She had wanted to gain as much information as she could on vampires, and in doing so, had learned a thing or two about other creatures, including – werewolves.

Nico was a werewolf.

That knowledge suddenly terrified the hell out of her. She'd been rooming with a legit werewolf all this time?

She couldn't move, in fact, she seemed incapable of doing anything but stare wildly at Nico and the vampire as they began circling one another, each step mirrored by the other.

"You're infringing on my turf, wolf." The vampire snarled through clenched fangs.

"And you're infringing on my nerves, bloodsucker." Nico growled.

The vampire paused and spared her a meaningful glance, "Might you be her host, then? She claimed to have belonged to another."

Leonie tensed as steel-green swiveled briefly in her direction.

"She is none of your fucking concern."

The creature smirked, "I'll strike a bargain with you, wolf."

Nico tilted his head, surveying the creature through heavy slits of bristling fury, "I'm listening, fanger."

Red rubies fastened hungrily on her, "The one left standing claims the woman for the taking."

Leonie's gaze jumped from the vampire to Nico and she thought she could see the tightening of his jaw.

"Agreed," Nico drawled on a deep snarl, and then added, "I'll take great pleasure in watching your head roll."

The creature snickered and then – lunged.

Leonie cried out in warning but Nico intercepted the vampire midair and the two of them went tumbling to the asphalt in a tangle of limbs and growls.

Her heart pitched against her chest at the sound of tearing of flesh. She clenched her eyes shut and palmed her ears and when she dared to reopen them, they continued to tussle, talons whisking through the air with a splaying of blood.

Her stomach churned as she lurched to her feet. She staggered and nearly toppled into the fray but regained her footing and ran.

The sound of throaty, vicious snarls and the ripping of flesh began to fade as her bare feet breezed over the blacktop. Terror and dread snatched at her vitals and propelled her into an aimless flight.

It wasn't until an arm as solid as steel clamped around her waist, hauling her abruptly off her feet and up against a solid chest, that her terror erupted into a wild thrashing of limbs and heightened screams.

The force at her back dropped to its knees, pulling her down to the asphalt. This terrified her all the more and she turned to claw at her attacker, but her wrists were snatched up in large, callused hands.

"Angel, stop," Nico commanded gently, his grip tightening as steel-green peered down at her.

She stilled in those muscled arms like trapped prey while peering fearfully into the eyes of a predator.

Her eyes flickered over his face, splattered with blood, but she noticed the violent sheen was gone from that steel and replaced with a softening filter of pale green.

It was such a direct contrast to the ice she was accustomed to seeing that she began to relax in his arms.

He shocked her by reaching up and pushing tendrils of hair from her face, "Are you hurt?" he didn't wait for her to answer but began inspecting her for injuries. When his eyes settled on her bloodied arm, it prompted a violent growl to rumble through his chest and up his throat.

Her terror returned full circle and she began struggling against him again.

"No, angel," he soothed, tightening his arm, "I'm not going to hurt you."

He lurched to his feet, taking her with him as he swept her up in his arms.

She thrashed against him but when she realized they were headed back in the direction of the vampire she froze with a humiliating whimper in her throat.

"Turn your face into my shoulder." He advised gently.

And she complied because she didn't want to see what Nico was capable of. "What about its body? Won't someone see?"

"It will burn up come first light." He answered softly.

She relaxed in his arms, somewhat comforted by those masculine arms and though he terrified her, she realized she had never felt safer.

He carried her back to the motel room and once safely inside, he set her on her feet and kicked the door shut.

She studied him warily as she took a step back, "You're a werewolf."

His eyes glittered fiercely of that fire and ice, "Yes."

Somehow that knowledge made him appear all the larger and all the more menacing.

Her eyes skimmed fleetingly around the room and as if sensing her thoughts, he took a step toward her with a throaty snarl, "I don't think so, angel. You've tried my patience enough tonight. It would be in your best interest to behave."

"Or you'll what?" she snapped strictly out of fear, "You'll bite me?"

He smirked at her, "Don't tempt me."

She paled, "You wouldn't dare."

His grin broadened as he took another step toward her, forcing her to retreat, "I dare much, my little moon."

Her eyes flared with a flourishing of anger, "Don't call me that."

He arched a black brow at her, "Call you what?"

"Yours," she hissed.

Nico continued towards her, "But you are, angel." his eyes traced heatedly down the length of her, "I won you fair and square."

She shook her head, a sharp breath hitching in her throat as the back of her knees came up against the bed, "No, I-I didn't agree to that."

He came to tower above her and it took every bit of her willpower to not buckle beneath that molten stare, "I think the conqueror is deserving of a prize, don't you?"

"Here is your prize!" she snapped and brought her hand around to deliver a slap against his smirking face, only her hand didn't connect but was shackled in that lethal grip. And with an agility that stunned her, he seized the other in one fluid motion and pinned her arms to the small of her back, forcing her up against him.

A maddening flurry of tingles spiraled exhilaratingly down her spine as he pressed her firm against the solid, hard length of him. That masculine warmth worked its way past her meager clothes and into her skin like a sensual stroke of fingers.

He leaned in, that steel-green blazing intensely of desire as they settled possessively on her lips. His breath fanning her forehead grew ragged, hoarse with need as he inched his mouth to hers, hovering but a fraction before sealing her mouth with his own.

Her resistance was half-hearted and quickly melted away beneath the white-hot rapture of his lips as he kissed her with an intensity that roused a throaty groan from her throat. He kissed her as though starved for her, snatching at every stimulating breath that passed from her lips. She felt his unbridled desire and that intensifying need with every pull of his mouth and stroke of his tongue as it delved past her swollen lips for a decadent taste.

She shuddered against him as he released her arms and of their own accord circled around his neck.

He groaned into her mouth as though pleased and reached down to scoop her up against him, holding firm to her bottom as he deepened the intensity of his kiss. She felt the possessiveness in his kiss and the formidable strength in his arms.

This is wrong. She was kissing a werewolf – a werewolf that would probably kill her if he discovered her true origin.

She stilled in his arms and it was enough to douse the fire.

He raised his head and all that molten steel gazed at her with a lingering haze of naked desire, and then slowly, cold rationality extinguished that raw heat.

He dropped her instantly to her feet and turned away from her with a sharp curse.

Leonie gazed absently at that muscled back as she raised a hand to her swollen lips, confounded by the intense longing still clutching at her body.

Nico spun around to face her and the fire in those steel-green eyes caused her to flinch, "Call to him." He commanded fiercely, almost angrily.

She blanched, "W-what?"

He stepped closer, "Valentine. Call to him. Now."

Her eyes widened as she managed a shake of her head, "No."

Anger flashed across his face, "No?"

"Do you wish me dead?" she snapped, "Because that is surely what will happen if he finds me. I'll not become a dead thing's bride!"

Steel-green flickered with an emotion she couldn't read, "It matters not to me!" He answered coldly, so coldly that it struck her like a serrated blade. "I want the bastard and I want him now."

His response hurt her. She shouldn't have let it affect her because the two of them were nothing but strangers. They weren't lovers. They shared one kiss – it meant nothing. But his words were stinging nonetheless.

She raised furious, blue eyes to him, "If you want the bastard so badly find him your damn self!"